Ulzana's Raid

In Ulzana's Raid, the Native- and European-American concepts of property ownership and rights are incompatible and irresolvable. McIntosh had no illusions about that. He said hating Apaches for killing whites is like hating the desert for having no water. I suspect the movie's not a good source of anthropological data and overlooks the commonalities among human communities to focus on just a few bold characters as all art must. I consider McIntosh fortunate to have died commensurate with the way he lived his life, rolling a final cigarette, nothing between him and the desert, and no gravediggers waiting, jesting, defecating. Also, he is lucky to have had one last, dispassionate friend to whom there is nothing left to say, the Chiracahua tracker Kah-ti-nay. Last night's performance of Beauty and the Beast may have been the most victorious, ecstatic, cohesive moment in our little school's history. Emily was Beauty, a filament of energy who doesn't like to be touched and has been known to punch boys hard. She had memorized her lines until she was hardly Emily but only Beauty in a blue dress unselfconsciously hiking up her tights between the Beast's advances. Is this done in every American town and the world over so there's no need to feel lost or lonely ever? There is no context for a man outside the platoon or raiding party, home or shop. When violence comes to the neighborhood, the hierarchy of communicants will hold or fold it is then the peace work proves relevant. I noticed McIntosh, grizzled as he was, accepted the given hierarchy, a raw lieutenant's orders, as he did the desert and Apaches, with a shrug and foreknowledge of the outcome. If there's anywhere with no Emily or Beauty we should bring them such blessings at the point of a gun. But there is no place without Emily, not the least-known prison in deepest space as long as we do not hate or hurt or shun the Beast.